Specs casting

Spec: casting

1. Scope

This spec defines the universe package and its files (canon, roles, per-team casting, review), the canon entry, the cast record, the casting review record, the universe setting and the planned casting commands (team universes add, team cast, team cast --propose). It follows the owner decisions OD-20261019-06 and OD-20261019-10 to OD-20261019-21, and the universe project's naming method and package README, cited by their words and never by link. Nothing in this area is built at the tag: no command, format or rule here has an implementation source, and every proof reads "none at the tag". The actor side's inputs (cost, quota, measured results) stay with the budgets and analysis specs; the swap queue that applies a re-cast stays with the Runtime; seat identity and routing stay with registry.md; the universe key's levels, inheritance and application rule stay with config.md.

2. Terms

• universe: the world a team draws its seat names, titles and team-role words from — mythology, history, astronomy, a film saga, a director's films, a series or a book. A setting at entity, project or team level, inherited downwards (OD-20261019-10).
• sub-universe: a bounded part of a universe — one work or era — whose titles and relations must hold at the stated story point.
• canon: the sourced register of a universe's entries; it separates what a source establishes from a reading of it.
• entry: a name with its titles, relations and relevant traits, each sourced; it supplies the evidence for a seat's name and title (OD-20261019-21).
• name: a seat's human-readable name, drawn from its selected entry, lowercase with hyphens; never the seat's stable identity.
• title: a sourced rank, office or occupation attached to an entry at a stated story point; a seat's label is Name · Title.
• role (base function): one of the tool's base functions — orchestrator, operator, builder, reviewer, tester, documentarist, communication, architect (OD-20261019-32, answer 29).
• team role: a team's word for a job in its universe, mapped onto a base function (OD-20261019-16); it may add its own grants, capabilities and skills, and supplies no authority by itself.
• role name: a universe's standing seat name for a role, the same in every team that uses that definition (OD-20261019-19).
• casting: two choices kept apart and recorded separately (OD-20261019-11, -21): the actor choice — which lab, model, version and effort fills a seat — and the entry choice — which universe entry gives the seat its name.
• cast record: one team's casting as a written file: each seat's function mapped to its entry with the reason, coherent as a set (OD-20261019-12).
• era: the stated story point a casting holds to.
• lab: the vendor whose model an agent runs on; review independence is counted in labs, not in reviewers (OD-20261019-20).
• source: a reference a claim is checked against, read on the day it is cited.

The word character is reserved for a later scope and names nothing here (OD-20261019-21); the decisions that used it are read with "entry" or "name" in its place.

3. Formats

Every format in this section is planned; no file of these shapes is read or written by the tool at v0.5.0 (52db9b75). The shapes follow the universe project's package README and naming method by their words.

3.1 The universe package

• Where: a folder per universe, kept locally or privately today; an API library serving packages is a decided direction, not an implementation claim (OD-20261019-18).
• Who writes it: the team or entity that makes the universe; built-in packages ship with the tool and are public-domain only (rule 12).

File	Required	Contents
canon.md	yes	one row per entry (§3.2)
roles.md	no	team roles mapped to base functions, and standing role names with their reasons and canon sources (OD-20261019-16, -19); where the universe defines none, the file is absent rather than filled by invention
casting.md	one per team	a cast record (§3.3)
review.md	yes	the casting review record (§3.4)

The package carries its version, its sources and its review record, so a library fetch and a local copy can be checked the same way (OD-20261019-18). A universe may hold sub-universes as folders of their own, for titles and relations that must hold at one story point.

Example (a Greek mythology package, public domain):

greek-mythology/
  canon.md        # entries of the Olympian era, each claim sourced and dated
  roles.md        # the standing communication name; a team role mapped to a base function
  casting.md      # team beacon's cast record
  review.md       # the review record of beacon's casting

3.2 The entry (a canon.md row)

One row per entry. Every factual cell names its source and the day it was read; a claim no source supports is marked unverified, never filled by guessing (OD-20261019-12).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Since	Meaning
entry	string	yes	—	planned	the display spelling, as the sources give it
name	string	yes	—	planned	the seat-name form: lowercase with hyphens; unique within a team
titles	string	yes	—	planned	canonical titles and when in the story each holds
relations	string	no	—	planned	the relations that bear on a cast set; "none needed" when the casting uses none
traits	string	yes	—	planned	the traits that bear on a function, with their story point
source	reference + read date	yes, per claim	—	planned	one per factual claim; an unsourced claim is marked unverified

Example rows (Greek mythology, the Olympian era; sources read 2026-10-19):

Entry	Titles and when they hold	Relations	Traits
Hera	Queen of the Gods, from the Olympian order's establishment (Theogony, read 2026-10-19)	consort of the king of the gods (Iliad 14, read 2026-10-19)	presides and exacts oaths; leadership with an exacting memory (Iliad 14–15, read 2026-10-19)
Ariadne	keeper of the labyrinth's thread, at the Cretan episode (Plutarch's life of Theseus, read 2026-10-19)	daughter of Minos (same source)	the thread that guides out of the maze: operational guidance through a structure (same source)
the Cyclopes	smiths of the thunderbolt, from the war against the Titans (Theogony, read 2026-10-19)	uncles of the Olympians (same source)	forged the king of the gods' weapon: direct construction evidence (same source)
Nemesis	goddess of due measure (Works and Days, read 2026-10-19)	none needed	weighs deeds and apportions what is due: judgment on evidence (same source)
Chiron	tutor of heroes, from the heroes' youth (Iliad 11, read 2026-10-19)	fostered and taught the heroes (same source)	keeps craft knowledge and teaches it: documentation and instruction (same source)
Pheme	personified report (Hesiod, Works and Days 760–764, read 2026-10-19)	none needed	report is readily raised and spreads through a people when many voice it (same source); this is the canonical claim, not a team function

3.3 The cast record (a team's casting.md)

• Who writes it: the casting's author; the file owner applies it after review (rule 6).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Since	Meaning
team	string	yes	—	planned	the team the casting is for
universe	string	yes	—	planned	the universe, or the sub-universe, the entries come from
era	string	yes	—	planned	the story point the set holds to
seats	table	yes	—	planned	one row per seat: base function and any team role; lab/model baseline; selected entry; proposed name and exact label; the reason for the fit
relations	string	no	—	planned	the entry relations that matter across the set, noted as lore — never as permissions or reporting lines
identities	table	no	—	planned	the stable registry agent id (agt_…) under each renamed seat, so routing and history survive a re-cast (OD-20261019-17)

Example (team beacon, universe Greek mythology, era "the Olympian order after the Titans' fall"):

Seat function	Baseline lab / model	Entry	Proposed name and label	Why it fits (team-level interpretation)
orchestrator	lab A / model a	Hera	hera — Hera · Queen of the Gods	presiding over the Olympian order fits coordinating the team
operator	lab B / model b	Ariadne	ariadne — Ariadne · of the Labyrinth	the guiding thread fits operational legwork
builder	lab B / model b	a Cyclops	cyclops — Cyclops · Smith of the Thunderbolt	forging the thunderbolt is direct construction evidence
reviewer	lab C / model c	Nemesis	nemesis — Nemesis · of Due Measure	weighing deeds and apportioning what is due fits review
documentarist	lab C / model c	Chiron	chiron — Chiron · Tutor of Heroes	teaching the crafts fits keeping the team's knowledge
communication	lab A / model a	Pheme	pheme — Pheme · the Report	interpreting the sourced report that spreads through a people as a fit for team communication; speaking on team channels is the proposed job, not a canon claim

A fictional title is never evidence of model ability (rule 4): the actor columns stand on the actor inputs, the entry columns on the canon.

3.4 The casting review record (a universe's review.md)

Field	Type	Required	Default	Since	Meaning
version	string	yes	—	planned	the package version and the files reviewed
author	lab	yes	—	planned	the authoring lab, per file
reviewers	table	yes	—	planned	one row per reviewer: lab, verdict, evidence (sources opened and read, scope checked)
verdicts	enum per file	yes	—	planned	PASS, PASS WITH CHANGES (the exact corrections), or NO (the blocker)
corrections	list	no	—	planned	each required correction and its disposition; the corrected proposal that passed is named
doubts	list	no	—	planned	what remains unverified or unresolved
assistance	list	no	—	planned	research or structural help, recorded apart from the independent verdicts — assistance never counts as one (OD-20261019-12)

Example (beacon's casting, authored by a lab A seat; reviewers from labs B and C under the default review-labs-min of 2):

Reviewer	Lab	Verdict	Evidence
first reviewer	B	PASS	every canon claim opened against its cited source on 2026-10-19; coverage of all six seats; team-local name uniqueness
second reviewer	C	PASS WITH CHANGES	required the era phrase on the builder row; the correction was folded, then passed

4. Commands and options

No command of this area exists in contract/cli.json at the tag; every synopsis here is planned and contributes no exit-code rows.

team universes add <name>     # make a universe for the entity from a list of entries (a name, titles, relations, traits, role hints), or fetch one from the library by name
team cast [--team|--plan]     # show the cast: which agent stands which seat, with the reason for each choice, pointing at the canon file
team cast --propose           # propose a better cast, with its reasons

The universe value itself is a setting, read and changed through the configuration commands (team config set team <team> universe <name>); its levels, inheritance and application rule live in config.md §6. Applying a proposal goes through the configuration commands and the swap queue, with the owner's go where a policy asks for it (OD-20261019-11). Re-casting — a seat out of quota, repeatedly failing, or a changed plan — follows the queued-swap rules (OD-20261019-01 to -03).

5. Rules

1. A universe is a package (OD-20261019-18): its canon, its team roles where it defines them, and its reviewed per-team castings. Every package MUST carry its version, its sources and its review record. Proof: none at the tag.
2. A source per claim (OD-20261019-12): every factual claim in a canon entry MUST name its source, read on the day. A claim with no source MUST be marked unverified; a gap MUST NOT be guessed away. Proof: none at the tag.
3. The cast record is coherent as a set (OD-20261019-12): a casting MUST map each seat's function to exactly one entry with a stated reason, cover every seat once, state its era, and note the relations that bear on the set. Proof: none at the tag.
4. The actor choice and the entry choice are separate records (OD-20261019-11, -21). The actor choice MUST weigh each model's abilities for the role; cost and the quota and pace left per account; lab diversity; the project's visibility; the owner's rules; and, once measured results exist, rounds to pass, work returned and cost per task. A fictional title MUST NOT be read as evidence of model ability. Proof: none at the tag.
5. Review before use (OD-20261019-20, -12): the naming method and every casting MUST be reviewed by at least N distinct labs other than the author's, where N is the review-labs-min setting (entity, project or team level; default 2). Several reviewers from one lab count as one lab. No team is renamed under a new universe before the method has passed its review. Proof: none at the tag.
6. Application is the file owner's step (OD-20261019-12): a casting is applied to a team file only after its review passes, and only by the file's owner; neither the proposal nor a review grants permission to edit another team's file. Proof: none at the tag.
7. Names are unique within a team (OD-20261019-19, amending -06): two teams MAY use the same entry name; across the entity a seat is addressed as name@team, and its stable identity is the registry's agent id. Proof: none at the tag.
8. A seat's name is the entry it plays (OD-20261019-17): a reviewed re-cast renames the seat when its selected entry changes, preserving the registry id; a name is not a leftover from an earlier cast. Changing the universe setting alone MUST NEVER rename existing seats (OD-20261019-06, -10). Proof: none at the tag.
9. Name and label form (the naming method, OD-20261019-21): the name is the entry's name in lowercase with hyphens; the label is Name · Title in the reviewed spelling, the title at the stated story point. Proof: none at the tag.
10. A team role maps onto a base function (OD-20261019-16, -21): a universe MAY define team-role words and standing role names, sourced and reviewed like the rest of its canon; a name, rank or team role supplies no authority — admission and permissions stay checkable against the base function underneath. Proof: none at the tag.
11. New seats draw from the universe (OD-20261019-06, qualified by -10, -12, -17 and -19): adding a seat takes the next free name from the team's universe; a hand-chosen name is a reviewed entry name; exhaustion yields a numbered name with a warning. Availability alone is not permission to apply a name. Proof: none at the tag.
12. Rights come first (OD-20261019-06, -10, -18): built-in universes MUST be public-domain only; a franchise's or an author's universe stays user-made and private to its owner, and MUST NOT be copied to a public repository, distributed, sold or served by a public API without a licence from the rights holder. The library begins with a free public-domain API; a paid tier MUST wait for both legal advice and ten public-domain universes in real use, and sets no price or licence now (OD-20261019-33, answer 27). Proof: none at the tag.

6. Registries

The rows this area contributes, in each registry's row shape.

registries/policy-names.md

Entry	Meaning	Since	Source at the tag	Note
review-labs-min	the least number of labs, other than the author's, that review the naming-method text and every casting	planned	this area's proposed policy; not in the policy catalogue	entity, project and team levels; default 2; counts labs, not reviewers — the review-count setting is a different one

registries/operations.md

Entry	Meaning	Since	Source at the tag	Note
cast	shows the cast — which agent stands which seat, with the reason for each choice — and --propose proposes a better one; applying a proposal goes through the configuration commands and the swap queue, with the owner's go where a policy asks for it	planned	proposed; no command-map row	decided 2026-10-19 (OD-20261019-11); a cast is reviewed before it applies
universes add	makes a universe for the entity from a list of entries (a name, titles, relations, traits, role hints), or fetches one from the library by name; built-in universes are public-domain only	planned	proposed; no command-map row	decided 2026-10-19 (OD-20261019-10)

config.md's proposed key registry

key	levels	type and allowed values	default	applies
universe	team, project, entity	a universe name: a built-in public-domain universe, or the entity's own made with team universes add	none (plain seat numbering)	at once; the next seat addition draws the next free name from it — a change never renames existing seats

No exit-code, capability, event-kind, cli-range, delivery-leg or seat-state rows come from this area at the tag.

7. Open points

1. Era coherence: whether a mixed-era ensemble may pass, and under what per-seat snapshot conditions; the worked example the naming method records passed with a snapshot per seat, which settles no general rule.
2. Name spelling: how punctuation, accents, transliteration, aliases and shortened forms become the lowercase-hyphen name beyond an approved table.
3. Exhaustion and repeated functions: how numbered names fit the canon and review requirements, and how several seats serving one function receive distinct names within a team.
4. Re-casting review scope: when a model-only change needs a naming review, and which changes to canon, roles or titles take a full review rather than a recorded delta review.
5. Conflicting sources: how sources are ranked when they disagree, and when an unverified claim may remain in a passed package without supporting the chosen name or title.
6. Package layout and versions: where several teams' cast records live, how sub-universes inherit entries and role names, and how library versions are updated.
7. Applying a rename: the collision-safe ordering, alias handling and recovery when target names overlap existing names; the stable registry identity is required, the mechanism unspecified.
8. The library's business model: pricing, licensing and any paid tier beyond the settled constraints of rule 12 remain for planning (OD-20261019-18).
9. Seat and agent: the explanation of a seat as a persistent place and an agent as a connection to a model was recorded under OD-20261019-22, which is revoked; it stands as an explanation for review, not a decision, and settles no terms here.

Revision log

• Draft (the writer, 2026-10-19): from the owner decisions OD-20261019-06 and OD-20261019-10 to -21, with the library constraint of OD-20261019-33 (answer 27), and the universe project's naming method and package README, cited by their words and never by link; every format, command and rule is planned, with nothing of the area built at v0.5.0 (52db9b75); examples come from the public-domain Greek universe only.

• Phase A review fold (2026-10-19): architect added as the eighth base function under OD-20261019-32, answer 29; Pheme’s source corrected to Hesiod, Works and Days 760–764, with the canonical report claim separated from the team-level role-fit interpretation in the cast example. All formats, commands and rules remain planned.

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